Khashoggi Coverup Story Still in Progress

Still all smiles!State Department via ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

This is remarkable:

The Trump administration and the Saudi royal family are searching for a mutually agreeable explanation for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi — one that will avoid implicating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is among the president’s closest foreign allies, according to analysts and officials in multiple countries.

That’s from the Washington Post and it’s presented as straight news. The leadership of Saudi Arabia has been appalling for a long time, so it’s not especially surprising that they’d order the murder of a political activist they found annoying. But even the most cynical critic of American foreign policy has to be gobsmacked that our president is all-but-publicly casting about for some kind of semi-acceptable coverup. I guess there’s no need to keep it discreet since he knows that no matter how preposterous the story is, Fox News and congressional Republicans will just shrug and then get back to the important business of confirming corporate-friendly judges.

I try not to let my depression and discouragement become too obvious. A lot of it is due not to current events, but to the temporary fatigue and tiredness I get from the chemo drugs I take. I know that. But damn. Between Kavanaugh and Khashoggi and the degeneracy of the Republican Party and just the unbelievable fact that Donald Trump is president of the United States,¹ I barely feel like getting out of bed anymore.

¹I mean, WTF? Donald Trump? Seriously?

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate